Almost 1,000 fly-tipping incidents in Ashfield

The Country Land and Business Association said the ‘disgraceful behaviour’ blights the countryside and warned the true extent of fly-tipping across England is probably even higher than feared.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs data shows 891 fly-tipping incidents were reported to Ashfield Council in 2020-21.

This was down from the 901 discoveries made the year before.

However, no fines resulting from court convictions were issued in the area last year – and none were issued in 2019-20.

The council carried out 560 enforcement actions in 2020-21, including 23 fixed penalty notices.

Across England, a record 1.1 million incidents of rubbish dumped on highways and beauty spots were found in 2020-21, up from 980,000 the previous year.

But the number of court fines halved from 2,672 to just 1,313 – with their total value decreasing from £1.2m to £440,000.

‘Disgraceful behaviour’

The CLA, which represents rural businesses, said the majority of fly-tipping occurs on private land, which the figures do not cover.

Mark Tufnell, CLA president, said: “These figures do not tell the full story of this disgraceful behaviour which blights our beautiful countryside.

“Fly-tipping continues to wreck the lives of many of us living and working in the countryside – and significant progress needs to be made to stop it.

“It’s not just the odd bin bag, but large household items, from unwanted sofas to broken washing machines, building materials and even asbestos being dumped across our countryside.”

Ashfield saw 6.9 fly-tipping incidents per 1,000 people last year, well below the England average of 20.1.

Household waste accounted for 478 incidents last year – 54 per cent of the total.

Sarah Lee, CLA director of policy and campaigns, said: “From quiet rural lanes and farmers’ fields to bustling town centres and residential areas, fly-tipping continues to cause misery.”

The Government said the first national coronavirus lockdown impacted many local authorities’ recycling programmes, and changes to household purchasing may also have driven the increased fly-tipping.

Coun Helen-Ann Smith, council cabinet member for community safety and crime reduction, said “Tackling fly tipping is a high priority for the council; it is a serious criminal offence and a blight on our communities, so it is fantastic to see incidents of fly tipping have reduced in Ashfield again.

“We have made significant efforts to curtail fly tipping resulting in 545 fly-tipping investigations with 88 fines issued under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 since April 2021, the highest recorded amount in the council’s history.

“We are dedicated to cleaning up the district and clamping down on people who commit environmental crimes.

“We will continue to work towards reducing the amount of fly tips by offering residents a chance to dispose of their bulky items, extra waste collections, and persisting with enforcement of those who do fly-tip.

“We have just recommitted to delivering another Big Ashfield Spring Clean in 2022 and once again will be providing free Christmas tree collections in January, and taking an extra bag of waste after Christmas to help residents responsibly dispose of their additional waste.”

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